Wu Zetian forces Emperor Ruizong to abdicate and proclaims herself emperor, founding the Wu Zhou dynasty on 21 September 690.
On 21 September 690, Wu Zetian compelled her son, Emperor Ruizong of Tang, to abdicate and proclaimed herself Huangdi, founding the short-lived Wu Zhou dynasty.[1][18] This act transformed her from empress dowager and regent into China’s only woman to rule as emperor in her own name, bearing the full title and authority of the Son of Heaven.
The proclamation was accompanied by elaborate rituals and ideological justification. Wu drew on Buddhist prophecies that heralded a "Maitreya" savior and commissioned texts and images depicting her as a divinely favored ruler.[1][5] She also reconfigured court ceremonies and symbolism to legitimize a female sovereign, challenging Confucian gender norms that reserved ultimate authority for men.
This date is historically significant because it marks the first—and only—time a woman officially assumed the imperial throne of China. Modern historians emphasize that Wu did not rule merely as a regent behind the scenes, but as an acknowledged emperor whose reign was recorded as a separate dynasty.[2][5][9] Her assumption of the throne disrupted centuries of patriarchal political practice.
The impact of the 21 September 690